Nader Ought To Take A Bow

October 08, 2002|By DAN HAAR

More than anyone in public life, Ralph Nader has earned the right to stand on Wall Street and shout, ``I told you so!''

Nader, in his fateful campaign of 2000, spent hours in speech after speech railing against exactly the sort of corporate shenanigans now dominating the news. Outrageous executive perks. Conflicts of interest at investment banks. Murky accounting.

Democrats and Republicans alike waved off his angry call for reforms as the misplaced, if sincere, voice of the extreme left wing. Now everyone is chirping that reform song, and, amazingly, little real change is actually happening even now.

``We are gathered here,'' Nader told a crowd of his most ardent followers Friday at Federal Hall, in front of the New York Stock Exchange, ``because we are concerned that not enough is being done about the most gigantic episode of grand larceny in the history of America.''

So, does Nader claim credit as the guy who was willing to trash his reputation among mainstream Democrats by handing the election to George Bush, all to make these same points two years ago? He doesn't, and he should. He's missing a chance to advance his brand of government-based reforms.

There's plenty of room for debate about Nader's prescription. It includes several measures endorsed by that old, conservative bastion that he loves to bash, the New York Stock Exchange itself.

He and the groups he recently formed -- Democracy Rising and Citizen Works -- favor independent boards for corporations, the right of shareholders to vote for option grants and stepped-up enforcement by the Justice Department.

True to form, the Winsted native, who still votes in Connecticut, also wants much more. He wants government regulation and tax policy to limit pay packages, decree the independent makeup of boards, mount an all-costs indictment war on corporate crime, outlaw consulting by auditors and generally manage the crisis by fiat.

Much of it goes beyond what government can or should do. He even wants a tax on stock trades to pay for universal health care.

But that's not the point. In economic policy, Nader was a marginal figure two years ago. Today his ideas are in the game, yet you still won't find much serious media coverage of his speaking tour.

He could broaden his audience by toning down the shrill, anti-corporate rhetoric (``They should never be given all the rights of human beings!'') and, yes, by claiming a little credit for predicting this mess in the first place.

After taking away enough votes in Florida alone (94,000) to swing victory from Al Gore, Nader could use a few still-seething Democrats saying, `OK, maybe he was right about corporate America.' Instead, Nader's audience, judging by the lunchtime rally scene on Wall Street, is still made up of his hard-core supporters, and he seems happy to play to them.

The view from the stock exchange building, where the usual smattering of traders and brokers emerged for fresh air and a cigarette, was blocked by three giant blow-up props -- a yellow oil can for Big Oil, a pink pig and a gray shark.

Police made it impossible for anyone curious to stop on the sidelines for a few minutes and listen.

It was, in short, too easy for the Wall Street regulars to wave off Nader and his co-ralliers, including Phil Donahue and the singer/songwriter Patti Smith.

``This is street theater for us,'' said Robert Jacobs Sr., a broker at a member firm at the exchange. ``We've seen this for 35 years.''

Entertainment only to a point, though.

``I do take it personally,'' said Jacobs, who described himself as a religious Catholic. ``The people down here are demonized. We resent it. We don't want to starve children, we don't want to breathe dirty air, we don't want to dump pollution into the river just to make another dollar.''

Jacobs also said he hasn't exactly made a killing these last couple of years. ``I don't like corporate crime, either. Nobody does,'' he said.

Nader, a top-notch orator and activist, had a net worth exceeding $3 million during the presidential campaign. He, more than his audience, understands and appreciates the nuances of American capitalism, even as he incites anti-corporate sentiment.

He has enough charisma and credibility to draw together disparate elements of the left, including the environmentalists, unionists and economic egalitarians, who often disagree. But Nader just won't blow his own horn, even if, as in this case, it could buy him time in the mainstream media.

``You know me, I have trouble doing that,'' he said after his speech, inside the historic Federal Hall, the site where George Washington took the presidential oath of office.

Quickly, he's back to slamming Congress for dropping the ball on reforms, securities regulators for missing the game, Democrats for playing along with the GOP, and Bush for talking up big enforcement, but failing to pay for it.

He won't admit a whit of gratification that he was right; only disappointment in the system. He is, above all, consistent.

``We're talking about thousands of crooks here,'' Nader said. ``If a dozen of these guys go to jail, that simply is not enough.''

Dan Haar can be reached at haar@courant.com or by calling 860-241-6536.